Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

This young woman is Annie Poon, the illustrator of Philip & Phoebe. We met a few years ago in New York City and have been friends ever since. So it was natural to ask her to illustrate the first book of my new publishing company, Spectacled Bear.

After I sent her the manuscript, we had several meetings; and one of the things she said struck me as so accurate. “Anne, you’ve got too many words.  Much of your script can be shown in pictures.”

I thought about this as she proceeded to share examples.  And, sure enough, my original 1500-word story is now reduced to about 450 words.  Still, it’s the right 450 words, because Annie’s illustrations really do the talking.